The solution is the product of 20 years of research by Wetland Resources co-founders Gary Shaffer and Demetra Kandalepas.

Wetland Resources’ goal is to plant and protect 1 million trees in the next decade, through swamp restoration and the planting of cypress swamps around every municipality in southeast Louisiana.

The result will be hurricane protection for all neighborhoods in coastal Louisiana, benefiting insurance companies, creating jobs through massive plantings and increasing safety for people, plants and animals over the course of the trees’ 1,000-year lifespan.

Ella Delio, director of environmental and regional initiatives at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, said Propeller did a good job of attracting a broad audience to help solve environmental challenges. “What we learned at the Water Challenge is that it’s going to take all of us — businesses, nonprofits, policymakers and artists — to tackle our water issues innovatively and effectively,” Delio said.

Separately in a crowd-sourced civic design competition, three artists pitched their ideas for a public art installation to engage New Orleanians around the challenges the city faces living with water. “Turning” by Michel Varisco was selected by an audience vote, winning $25,000 in project funding, provided by Arts Council New Orleans, to install a project design on the new Lafitte Greenway. “Turning” will include a trio of interactive cylinders incorporating sound, mosaic renderings of the Mississippi River and electro-luminescent panels.